Home > Vietnam War > John F. Kennedy Biography

Born May 29, 1917
Brookline, Massachusetts
Died November 22, 1963
Dallas, Texas

Thirty-fifth president of
the United States, 1961–1963

During his term as president of the United States in the early 1960s, John F. Kennedy became very concerned about South Vietnam's ability to withstand Communist forces and establish a stable democratic government. As a result, he approved a significant increase in American assistance to South Vietnam. He sent both financial aid and thousands of U.S. military advisors to the troubled nation. But when the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem (see entry) refused to institute reforms to increase its popularity with the South Vietnamese people, Kennedy decided that the country needed new leadership. A few months later, a group of South Vietnamese military leaders overthrew Diem and took control of the government with the blessing of the...